The Continent
Geography The Continent was surrounded by a seemingly endless ocean and a few nearby small islands. Near the center of the Continent was a mountain range with a few volcanic faults. In the West was a large swampy area referred to as the Cursed Marsh. To the North was a prairie that became almost desert-like as it approached the shore. In the center of the Continent, high in the mountains was High Lake. To the East was the larger Merchant Lake. To the South was the Lake of the Cities. Timeline Prehistoric *All sapient mortals (except for the civilized vampires) were used for slave labor in the Netherworld since prehistory. The work was intense and people died constantly. The use of spoken or written language was prohibited but some covert groups mimicked the language of their captors, the yugoluthi, and that language became the base of more modern language used for millenia. *The Yugoluthi ate the souls of the mortals and the fae ate the hearts of the mortals. The yugoluthi always had a majority hold of most of the mortals and treated them as unskilled workers where the fae respected them, taught them combat skills and used them for entertainment in arena fights. Both species kept the fact that they consumed mortal remains a secret to prevent hysteria and revolts. *There were often raids by the fae from the Etherworld on the yugoluthi slave camps. The yugoluthi defended their land and began an all out war on the fae. Both the yugoluthi and the fae used their shapechanging powers to create hideous and fierce warriors. *Titania, the leader of the fae, sued for peace with Death the leader of the Netherworld. Not all the terms were understood but the most important term was that the mortals from the Netherworld would be released into the Hitherworld. The men] released into the Hitherworld evolved into humans, dwarves, cyclopes and giants. The men that resided in the Etherworld evolved into elves. Advent and Bronze Age: Year 1 - 2100 *Year 1: Sapient species emerge from slavery in the Netherworld after Titania's petition to Death. The people of this time are called the Ancients. *Year 200 (circa 3000 BC): First reliable written records. The language is based on the language used by the yugoluthi and fae. The alphabet is unstandardized and letters that would seem strange to more recent peoples are used. Tribes are the main form of civilization. *Year 300: Kings and tribal chiefs are the main leaders of societies. *Year 1800: Settled tribes begin to cluster in city-states. City-States begin to align. Rough alliances similar to Vijj and the Coalition of Independent City-States form. *Year 1993: first record of the Beeloni tribe. *Year 2000: Societies are extracting metals from ores, making pottery and glazes, fermenting beer and wine, making pigments for cosmetics and painting, extracting chemicals from plants for medicine and perfume, making cheese, dying cloth, tanning leather, rendering fat into soap, making glass, and making alloys like bronze. Iron Age: Year 2100 - 3300 Beeloni Vijj Varn Thallius Ypria Regtha]] *Year 2054: Singar becomes the capital of the Beeloni tribe. *Year 2160: Zophrah is born. Descended from tribal chieftain, he is set to inherit the throne of the Beeloni tribe. *Year 2181: Zophrah becomes a warrior king of the Beeloni tribe. *Year 2226: Repherod the Wise, son of Zophrah becomes a scholar king of Singar. He is known for his wisdom and building of large monuments. He is also known to have performed many fantastical feats such as conjuring powerful beings, notably Zeparaberius. *Year 2500: Vijjanus is flourishing. King Alexanus Vijjan, a member of the founding bloodline reigns. Majick started being used as a form of entertainment. *Year 2603: First written record of the number "0". *Year 2730: Melianus Adrastos is born. *Year 2770: Quirinus Argyris is born. *Year 2780: Quirinus Argyris becomes apprentice of Melianus Adrastos. *Year 2800: Melianus Adrastos dies. *Year 2811: Filippos Koibos is born. *Year 2829: Filippos Koibos becomes apprentice of Quirinus Argyris. *Year 2852: Quirinus Argyris dies. *Year 2863: Evander Falon is born. *Year 2780: Evander Falon becomes apprentice of Filippos Koibos. *Year 2887: Evander Falon begins conquest of the Continent. *Year 2911: Evander Falon unifies a large portion of the Continent into Falonia. Vijj Thallius Ypria Regtha Falonia]] *Year 3031: Winterden is founded by Lorenzo Harridan as a way-point on the trip through the pass to Vijj *Year 3105: Papermaking is invented. *Year 3164: Vijj organized into empire by Emperor Olympiantine. Vijj Thallius Ypria Regtha Falonia]] *Year 3220: Klin the Elder is born *Year 3226: Coalition of Independent City-States is officially founded and 80% of eventual members sign treaties. Vijj and Falonia sign a treaty to treat the CICS as a neutral entity. Any overly aggressive or friendly actions from either country would be enough to warrant a declaration of war. *Year 3241: Pullus is born *Year 3242: Luxus is born *Year 3246: Klin the Elder forms The Academy *Year 3264: Yusik and Henris are born *Year 3265: Amelia is born *Year 3267: Frack is born *Year 3279: Pernilia is born *Year 3282: Loraine is born *Year 3283: Gargantua is born *Year 3285: Evelyn is born Majick Age: Year 3300 - 4000 *Year 3300: Majick begins being studied by Loraine *Year 3301: Dominius is born *Year 3303: Klin the Elder dies *Year 3304: Stephoria is born *Year 3304: Ginny begins research on yugoluthi and other powerful beings. *Year 3430: Majick is found to have the power to hybridize creatures *Year 3436: Majick is found to have the power to hybridize men. Some aim to overcome age, suffering, and disease while others use their power to create "monstrosities" combining random animals with humans for their own gains, often kidnapping victims for experiments *Year 3441: Rarach forms the discipline of Iatromajick with the goals of finding ways of healing through majick and Iatrochemistry with the goal of finding an elixir of immortality. *Year 3524: Falonia and Vijj outlaw the hybridization of men. The CICS allows it. Centaurs, Merpeople, Scorpios, Minotaurs, Gorgons, Dryads and men with multiple heads or limbs are left with no native land and barely any living population to reproduce. Vijj goes through the First Purification to expell hybrids. The Coalition of Independent City-States sees an increase in immigration as outcasts find new homes. *Year 3854: First firmly recorded attacks of the Green Plague, a disease sent by Pestilence. War Age: Year 4000 - 4700 Vijj Coalition of Independent City-States]] *Year 4000: Gunpowder is used in the Coalition of Independent City-States for entertainement, then weaponry. Scholars at The Academy develop an early experimental method for chemistry, and isolate numerous acids, including hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, citric acid, acetic acid, tartaric acid, and aqua regia. The magnetic navigational compass is invented. *Year 4050: The dwarf and future king of the elves, Oberon is born. *Year 4113: James the Inquisitor begins the Second Purification where vampires were expelled to coastal cities and lycanthropes were quarantined to isolated rural villages. *Year 4240: Vijj declares war against Falonia for having too close relations with the northern CICS. *Year 4381: The Academy is reformed by Tobias Archembald. Falonian education is standardized. *Year 4467: Inventors in Vijj experiment with gunpowder. *Year 4521: Fenwic Helstrom is born Year 4542: Fenwic Helstrom enlists in the military *Year 4544: War breaks out between Vijj and Falonia *Year 4564: Fenwic Helstrom returns to Winterden as a war hero and scholar of majick. He is made chancellor of The Academy and is crowned king by popular vote. The current king and chancellor willingly abdicates the throne to him. *Year 4570: Zeparaberius is summoned to attack Winterden. Fenwic Helstrom traps him in the Ring of Arzacon. *Year 4586: Fenwic Helstrom dies *Year 4587: Fenwic Helstrom is resurrected, then dies again *Year 4673: Oberon dies despite the best efforts of Titania. Titania consumed his heart and his soul was fought over by the factions in the Netherworld. A convention was announced to decide the next king of the elves.